“Then does that mean you’re going to put a spell on me?” Why did it suddenly feel as if this man had utter control of my very soul? And certainly every inch of my body. And why were there a dozen or more warning signs that my initial assessment of him was accurate?
He was a dangerous predator. Even with the admittance of knowing what he could do, the excitement only increased.
“Answer me this.” As he turned to face me, the swell of neon lights highlighting every sculpted angle in his face, I resisted moaning, a dead giveaway of my blatant desires. “Do I need to?”
“No.” The answer popped from my lips without thinking.
And I meant it.
While I remained where I was, he took the time to yank off his jacket, tossing it over the back of a chair. His cufflinks were next, which he deposited alongside the keycard. As I’d done before with him, I held my breath, enjoying studying his silhouette.
As he unbuttoned his shirt, unfastening several until the material was open halfway down his chest, the wetness between my legs intensified. Everything about him was calculated, more controlling yet also more easygoing than any man I’d ever known including my father. Only when the sleeves of his tuxedo shirt had been rolled past his elbows did he head toward the cart, grabbing the bottle of champagne.
I knew instinctively to remain where I was.
“When was the last time a man pleased you?” His voice seemed darker than before. He wasn’t looking in my direction, grabbing a towel as he peeled away the foil on the bottle of bubbly.
“A long time.”
He stopped moving altogether. This man wasn’t going to allow me to get away with half answers or lies.
“Um. Three years. No, three and a half.”
My honest answer brought a slight tip of his head in my direction. “Then whoever you were with was a hapless idiot.”
His comment brought a smile to my face. “Yes, he was.”
The slight pop as he pulled the cork sent an even more powerful wave of tingles through me. My body was wired to the point my skin was itching, the electricity increasing substantially. With the two flutes in his hand, he moved toward a chair positioned directly in front of the banks of windows.
One glass was placed on the table next to the overstuffed chair while he sat down with the other in his hand. Several feet separated us but I could easily tell he was capable of looking right through me, not only undressing me with his eyes but also discovering all my inhibitions.
Which he had every intention of smashing.
“Undress and come to me.”
I stood defiantly, the heat between us radiating all the way across the expansive room. “And if I don’t?”
He took his time pulling the crystal flute to his lips and with his body backlit by the cityscape, I found myself completely mesmerized by him. The sip he enjoyed. That was obvious by the way he held the glass into the light.
With every move deliberate with the man, I had a feeling he was presenting the bubbles for me to see.
“Then, my sweet Aphrodite, there will be consequences for your disobedience.”
CHAPTER 4
Anna
Why was it that his words sent a thrill through me?
Why were the waves of tingles even more pronounced than before?
And why did I find myself walking closer so I could grip the back of one of the couches, enabling me to remove my shoes? When the task was complete, he leaned back in his chair, studying me with no expression on his face. Perhaps it was still too light to remove our masks.
His chest rose and fell as I moved from the couch, holding my head high as I unfastened the gauzy skirt that was part of my costume. As I shimmied it down my legs, he brought the glass to his lips once again, keeping the rim a few centimeters away.
All the while his gaze never shifted away, his eyes burning into mine.
I was completely mesmerized by the man and his ability to remain motionless as I continued undressing. I could tell his eagerness when he finally moved to the edge of his seat, shifting the glass back and forth from one massive hand to the other.
